Retail Through a Nomadic Lens: Nick Harbaugh on Global Perspectives and Execution

Retail works best when execution, perspective, and adaptability come together.

In this episode of Retail Relates, Rich Honiball and Judy Sejini sit down with Nick Harbaugh, a retail construction and execution expert turned global content creator behind The Retail Nomad.

With more than 30 years of experience building stores across thousands of locations, Nick brings a rare perspective — one grounded in execution, but expanded through global observation.

Nick shares pivotal moments from his career, including the decision to leave traditional retail early, lessons learned from launching his own business, and how hands-on experience shaped his understanding of what actually works in retail.

The conversation explores:

• Why execution is often the missing link in retail strategy
•  How global retail environments differ from the U.S. — and what we can learn from them
•  The importance of creativity and differentiation in physical retail
•  Why leading organizations stay proactive, not reactive
•  How AI is reshaping retail — and where opportunity lies
•  What students and emerging professionals should focus on early in their careers

This episode offers a practical, experience-driven look at retail from the ground up — and a reminder that new perspective often comes from stepping outside your own environment.


👤 Meet Our Guest

Nick Harbaugh is a retail construction, project management, and supply chain expert with more than 30 years of experience in the retail and commercial sectors.

Throughout his career, he has led and executed multi-million-dollar projects across fixture installation, store build-outs, remodels, and large-scale rollout programs — working with global brands including Walmart, Samsung, Home Depot, Target, Sephora, Dyson, Mercedes AMG, and many others.

Nick co-founded Retail Marketing Services (RMS), growing it into a multi-million-dollar business serving major retail organizations across domestic and international markets. Following the successful sale of his company, he expanded his work globally, consulting across the retail ecosystem and contributing to projects in more than 100,000 locations across 15+ countries.

He is an active industry voice, speaker, and member of the Shop! Association, and a recognized leader in retail execution and supply chain collaboration.

In 2022, Nick launched The Retail Nomad, a global journey spanning more than 20 countries to document retail environments, share insights, and highlight innovation across markets. His work has earned recognition as a Top Retail Influencer (2023), one of the Top Retail Experts globally for 2024 and 2025, and an NRF Top 50 Retail Voice for 2026.

Transcript

Opening And Guest Setup

Ben D. 0:46

Some people study retail, others build it, and a few step back, travel the world and start connecting the dots. In this episode, our co-hosts Rich Honeyball and Judy Sajini sit down with Nick Harbor, a retail construction and project management expert with more than thirty years of experience bringing stores to life across thousands of locations around the world. Nick has spent his career on the execution side of retail, leading multimillion dollar projects across fixture installation, remodels, and new store build-outs for brands like Walmart, Samsung, Home Depot, Target, Sephora, and more. He co-founded Retail Marketing Services, growing it into a multimillion dollar business, serving some of the most recognized names in retail before expanding his work globally across more than 100,000 locations in over 15 countries. As he puts it, his expertise is simple making retail look the way it was designed. In recent years, Nick took that experience in a different direction, launching the Retail Nomad, a global journey across more than twenty countries to study retail in its natural environment. What started as curiosity became something bigger. A real-time look at how retail differs across cultures, markets, and mindsets. In this episode, we explore what Nick has learned from building retail at scale, why many brands struggle to evolve, what global markets are doing differently, and how experience, not just execution, is reshaping the future of brick and mortar. This is a conversation about perspective, practicality, and what happens when you step outside your own market and comfort zone to see retail more clearly. Stay tuned as we travel the globe with Nick.

Three Pivotal Career Turns

Rich H. 2:33

Welcome to this episode of Retail Relates. It is absolutely my pleasure to be joined by Judy Sejini. You are a graduate of George Mason, and you were in the first class I taught there, star students. So great to have you co-hosting with me today.

Judy S. 2:50

It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you for introducing me.

Rich H. 2:54

And it's an absolute pleasure for us to be interviewing Nick Harbaugh. We've read your bio, Nick, and it is absolutely impressive, but we want to dig a little bit deeper. So welcome to the program.

Nick H. 3:06

Thank you very much for having me here. I'm excited to chat with you.

Rich H. 3:09

What part of the world are you in right now? I am sitting in London, England here this week. Oh, fantastic. We'll be jumping into that one a little bit with your nomadic travels. So, but what we want to do is start with a question that we ask all of our guests. Tell us about the three pivotal moments that happened throughout your life. They can be personal, they can be professional, or a mix that got you to where you are right this moment sitting with us today.

Nick H. 3:36

Sure. Uh it's a great question, Rich. Uh, I guess I would start with the fact that, you know, in schooling, I learned that I wasn't the most academic student. And sometimes uh figuring things out on my own, right? Type a type of scenario. And uh the having that ability uh to learn as you go. I had an individual that sat me down. I worked at a pharmacy chain back in uh in my college days, and he said, Nick, I'm gonna give you some advice. And Mr. Jump, I I appreciate him to this day, kind of led me down the path of doing my own thing, leaving the retail sector at a young age and starting and going to the pivot to the service side of the business. So I would say that was a huge uh pivot and a very critical moment for myself. So that that would be one element. Two, uh I I when I made that pivot, I joined a marketing firm out of Columbus, Ohio, and I learned a lot. A lot I learned a lot of beneficial good things to do, and some not so beneficial. That I was the first one to leave this organization and started my own entity in uh I think October of '95. And end up you know getting in a little bit of trouble financially. But I learned, like I say, I learned what to do and what not to do within the industry at a young age, right? I wasn't sure what was going on, but I knew something didn't feel right. Right. And uh and now pivotal times is my uh the retail sector itself. You know, we we were fortunate, but you know, I don't want to say we projected. I'm looking at the growth channels of retail, you know, stores and chains were booming hundreds of new locations per year. And to me, it was uh common sense to jump into that sector because I love the mechanical aptitude side of that. You know, take Legos as a child and just make it a macro scale size, and you can build a store. And I love that.

Rich H. 5:34

So you're saying that Legos should come out with a store building kit.

Nick H. 5:40

I mean, think think of that. I mean, at today's age, I mean, I I was intrigued with Lincoln logs, you know, showing my age here, you know, Judy has no idea what Lincoln logs are, you know, but uh old school mechanical aptitude and building things and putting them together. And just think of what we do today in retail. We put things together, but it's on mass scale, you know, 10,000 to 100,000 square feet.

Rich H. 6:04

So is this the path that you thought you were going to go down, or are you surprised that you were here and and what do you what what did you envision you would be doing if it wasn't this?

Nick H. 6:14

Well, uh, I I hadn't I definitely didn't think it was this path here, right? Uh started the schooling and the mechanical engineering side, which I love that aspect of it. Uh and then I switched to business management. So I got a little of the the mechanical aptitude uh aspect and then a little business management, and then uh basically left school and combined those two. And again, you know, here we are now, but I didn't vision this years ago. If I were to project, I would think or uh thought back then that I would be a mechanical engineer, you know, type of scenario, uh, or you know, a machinist or making making things. So you know, something uh uh wood, metals, that those type of material aspects.

Defining Retail Execution Expertise

Judy S. 6:54

All right. So I know you said that in the beginning of your path, there were there was a financial setback um since you did leave the marketing firm. Um, but throughout your journey, was there any challenge that you faced uh that taught you something lasting?

Nick H. 7:07

Absolutely. We learned so many things. I pulled my hair out, right? You had uh cash flow, right? Managing aspects, you know, negotiating with clients. You know, a lot of those elements, I had never had any training. Even in my schooling, I I there was a lot to learn and negotiating with those clients, contracts, and then uh with them with the labor side of the business. It was a two-way street that we had 30 years ago, bringing new business in and executing it operationally. So for me, I I love that yin and yang of the sales marketing side one day and then the operational execution side the next day. Yeah, so a lot of lessons learned along that path and in building retail in the 90s and 2000s.

Rich H. 7:53

So before I was going to open this question and say you're an expert in store environment and execution, but let me ask you how would you define your expertise as we explore the lessons learned?

Nick H. 8:07

That's a good question. Making retail look the way retail is designed is what I would say. I'm an yeah, I've developed and become an expert, you know, with 30, nearly 35 years of uh experience. Historically, I think if we put pen to paper, uh I can say that I've executed uh through via my network projects in probably a few hundred thousand stores, right? So one role one project rollout could be 1,000, 5,000 store locations, right? So those add up quickly over 35 years. You know, so it could be as simple as installing this Samsung display in an X number of locations in domestic US, or it could be in you know, building this store format, you know, store of the future, 10 stores this year, 50 stores next year. You know, a lot of a lot of variants there. You know, so it's kind of a loaded question, but uh I would say making retail look the way retail is designed.

Rich H. 9:06

So I'm gonna follow up on that one. It's it's interesting because we've been having a lot of conversations. Uh, I had one yesterday with the head of the marketing department at George Mason, and we've been having it internally about how we define positions today. And Judy, you you're a recent graduate, and you mentioned architecture, and then what you're describing, you didn't say it specifically, but you're architecting the store. And we've been having the conversation about moving away from position descriptions and retail that are defined by experience and job title and more towards skill set and aptitude and looking at are you an analyst? Are you an architect? Are you a narrator? Do you see yourself having taken this interest in kind of engineering and architecture and translating that into designing what retail should look like?

Nick H. 10:05

Well, just for clarity's sake, we me, myself, and typically in the teams I'm associated with, we're not too heavily involved on the design side, right? By the time it gets to me, to us, it's already on paper, right? So somebody's already stamped it approved conceptually, design, architecturally, MEP drawings, and so forth. And then, you know, Nick, can you give us a price to build this store that looks like this? However, we could be very suggestive and we think about this. A brand element, you know, some of these individuals, architects, VPs, and executives, they've done the same thing X number of times. It could be a hundred times, a thousand times. We on the service side of the business, we can do the same thing for a hundred brands. So we truly get a large uh bandwidth of information, knowledge, learnings, what to do, what not to do. And that's why I say, from my perspective, that vendor relationship is so key and critical to the success of programs.

Skills Over Titles In Retail

Rich H. 11:10

So just yeah, so just to take that one step further. So, not an architect in a in a literal way, though obviously that's part of it, but more the mindset of wanting to build out something and see the result as opposed to organize it as opposed to tell the story. And this is an exploration for us is how do we get people to have that energy and that desire to go into retail, not by saying, Do you want to be a supply chain coordinator or do you want to be uh but do you like to build things? Do you like to narrate stories? Do you like to develop processes? Do you like to analyze and figure out puzzles? Thoughts?

Nick H. 11:50

I can only visualize from the education side of this and you know, bringing the students up through the channels. To me, it's a collective combination today of old school brick and mortar, right? Combined with experiential. It's that bridge. And that's why, for myself personally, I've attended more tech related shows in the last two, three, four years, primarily to learn how to bridge brick and mortar with experience, right? Because you know, if you're the brands that are strictly and only brick and mortar will probably feather out and be closing more stores if they don't combine that experiential aspect. You know, when they blend that together, combining technology, digital, you know, AI, you know, all these elements, scanning goes, it's it's the tech is driving the change of brick. Yeah, I've been saying that now for the last few shows I've been to. So from an educational perspective, you could have IT, you could have marketing, visual, you know, uh graphics. I mean, there's a lot of elements now that might be more prevalent than they were 20 years ago in that in that educational stepping stone.

Judy S. 13:03

I know that you've uh visited a lot of different countries. And what have you learned from your travels that you think retailers in the US should invest more time and understanding?

Nick H. 13:13

Well, from a from a global perspective, don't do what others do. I mean, I think sometimes being unique, being different, you stand out in the crowd, right? And I think a lot of the brands, you know, domestic US, I'll be speaking here, do a lot of similar things, right? If you go in one, you go to a US store, you you pretty much know that you're in the United States. And now with my global footprint, I'm like, wow, why do we not implement some of these things and the differences, right? Why do we do them all the same? Right. You go in a store in Europe and you instantly feel some aspects that are unique, different, and it's it's that eye-opening perspective. And that's why I think you know some of these executives could gain a lot of them do, but I don't know how much they're able to implement, change a domestic US because there's a lot of corporate red tape. Yeah, no, we've always done it this way, type of thing. Well, I don't know. You you know, following the financials of retail, there's been a lot of downside of brands that we never would have fathomed that are closing, you know, a lot of stores or even following bankruptcy, unfortunately. You know, because I I look at it like a lot of domestic US is stagnant, stale, not exciting, you know, and some of these other brands and regional market players, they think outside the box. And maybe because they're more smaller and nimble, they could do their own thing, right? And they could be different. And that difference, you know, attracts loyalty and the consumers returning on a weekly or monthly frequency.

Judy S. 14:49

I'm originally from Saudi Arabia. So I studied for my undergrad in Virginia. So I've really noticed differences in marketing in the US and here. And also have noticed how inspired we are by US marketing. And I wonder if it's because when we reached to the point where we leveled with how the US markets, but then other countries are going even above and beyond that. But because the US is sort of I feel like it was sort of the baseline of other people being inspired by that. We could maybe be inspired by different countries and improve based off of that and not stick to what has always worked so far.

Global Retail Lessons And Stagnation

Nick H. 15:29

Exactly. And not to to plug or promote another show, but I'm going to hear just for a reason. Euroshop is upcoming, and a lot of my domestic US uh colleagues and network individuals, they look at it like, what Nick, why do you go to that show if it's in Europe, it's in Germany, and uh they don't understand what the what it opens your eyes to, right? It's it's one of the largest retail-focused shows in the world and held in Germany every three years. And I love it. I've been to, I don't know, you know, five, six of these things over the last 15 or 20 years. And to me, it really opened up my perspective globally, right? And I think that uh some of the retailers in the US get that and they do go there to see what's different out there in the place, whether it be a vendor, design, creativity, a supplier type type of aspect. And then they can bring that back to you know on US soil and make make changes within their own brand.

Judy S. 16:28

So tell us more about being the retail nomad. Um, what inspired you to do this? Right before today, I watched your YouTube channel, the retail nomad, and I saw your Marseille video, which was really cool to see that perspective, you know, if you've never been there before.

Nick H. 16:43

Which would which video did you see?

Judy S. 16:45

The Marseille one in France.

Nick H. 16:47

Oh, Marseille, oh, the recent one.

Judy S. 16:48

Yeah.

Nick H. 16:49

What I did, if you look at my background, 35 years retail experience, and I love to learn and I love to travel. So if y'all were just to put three three elements on the table, mixing those two three elements together in one formula travel, education, retail, and bringing visibility back to you know, are there retail executives, consumers, family, and you know, just my network that's enveloped nicely over the last few years. It's a combination of all of those, and it creates a global vision. And there's really when I started my research, there was no one doing what I'm doing right now. I mean, there's been a few cop copycats come along, and I guess that's a compliment, you know, but and then hence that's how I got the name the retail nomad. And I wanted to keep it simplistic, but yet you know, explain, you know, so to speak, what I'm doing and trying to bring the vision too.

Rich H. 17:43

So you mentioned that you're seeing innovation not just in other places of the world, but in some of the smaller and mid-size retailers that you've come across. And I wonder how much of that is not just the flexibility that a smaller and mid-size retailer may have, but you know, they say necessity is the mother of invention. And when you're a corporate entity and you do have these big budgets, but you are judged by shareholder value and what did the stock price do yesterday or or to what's it going to do tomorrow? Do you think that that necessity fuels the need to change to drive forward to spend more time listening to the customer?

Nick H. 18:21

That's an interesting question, Rich. Yeah, I mean, from our from the vendor side and perspective, we're not involved in that decision process in a lot of cases, but it and again, by the time it gets to us, in the long run, we may learn how and when that decision was made, right? Uh for to implement change. And a lot of times what we're learning is you know, the financials come out, Q1 uh comes out, and boom, they instantly want need to make the change. And it's a reactionary mindset. And uh, in my aspect and seeing uh the the travels, I wouldn't say I know, but I would think that the proactive aspect could be beneficial. And and in primarily working with the vendors, I that I think the vendors bring much so much in-depth experience from glob brands that you get the tunnel vision of some of these brands and to make a change, it's uh they don't want to hear it. They don't that they they know what's right and they what's what's working, and then three years later you hear they file bankrupt. That's my assumptions based off of my learnings and travel, and then you know, my experience on US soil and seeing and hearing how some of these decisions and changes are are are created and implemented.

Rich H. 19:34

Yeah, there's never the likely is never one answer. It could be that the change is what is it, a mule is a horse designed by committee. Uh so we're there. I like that. Yeah, I've used that once or twice when we uh when when I'm part of a larger committee. Tell me about a belief that has shaped the way you approach projects today.

Nick H. 19:55

My preference is to deal with people that I'm gonna simplify it, get it. So many people in our industry uh they come to us with a number and they probably never had a DeWalt drill in their hand. They've got an accounting degree, and they come to us with the numeric value. I'm like, those numbers are wrong, right? And we try to explain from our experience and working in hundreds of thousands of store locations that that level of communication back to a brand is key. If I don't have that, I would prefer to walk away from the business and I would prefer my competitor to deal with that type of a project, right? Because we need that two-way street to be successful. Too many times it it's uh it's not a two-way street, and we kind of know going in that it might not be a road to success.

Rich H. 20:45

So in your travels, have you seen a small single proprietor retailer, farm stand, a tienda? Um I'm thinking of all the different languages, that you looked at and said, wow, you know, that there's inspiration that could spark a insert name department store to think a little bit differently.

Nick H. 21:04

I mean, there's numerous, right? I mean, I just I I like to say creating that wow factor, like never seen that before. You know, the you know, implementing your creativity, the mindset, knowing your consumer, and and speaking to an audience of the demographic that's going to bring you the largest ROI. And again, those cookie cutters, the more mass scale, in a lot of cases, the less creativity they can be. They have to stay within those channels and parameters. I'm gonna use the term cookie cutter, but having that creative side and that that feeling, uh, that wow factor, you know, I see it a lot bouncing around, and like that's really a cool idea. Somebody was really smart to thought of that, you know. So hopefully I show show that in my videos and I try to you know pinpoint and it's a hybrid blend, right? You know, I'll show Nike, Samsung, Michael Kors, international brands we're all familiar with, and then I'll show a mom pa that, you know, has it and nothing to do with corporate America, but it's again that yin and yang because maybe some of those corporations could pick up on some of these elements uh of merchandising, the process, the sale, the education, the consumer experience, you know, to blend a recipe for success.

Rich H. 22:19

Is there a global retailer out there that you've come across that you think is getting it right? And I don't want to put you on the spot with someone that you've worked with or or calling out anybody in the negative, but is there that global retailer that you say, man, they're they're really um they're they're they're are you getting it or starting to get it?

The Retail Nomad Origin Story

Nick H. 22:37

Well, you think about it. I mean, there's there's a hundred you know, international labels, right? I'm in London, right? And I just learned Nike is doing an event this week. Weekend, or not this weekend, next weekend, I'm sorry. And you know, it's combining experience. It's a basketball event, but they're doing a huge build-up display. And it's that outdoor promotion, it's experiential promotion around a basketball court. What's their key? Their takeaway is to sell shoes, right? But I like that. I mean, so they're engaging with these kids. I don't even know. I'm going to go watch and see it myself. Probably do a video there. I attended the Nike's largest store in Latin America, in Mexico City, you know, in January this year. Combining the experience. It was an Air Jordan store, you know, really cool stuff. The kids were all over the jerseys too, you know, somebody my age. So you're talking a big demographic window. And here I am in London, and I just found out, like, oh, an outdoor event, combining that. So combining experience, at the end of the day, they want to sell shoes and jerseys, right? So whether that be online or in brick, the more engagement you can create with your clientele and your loyalty members, I think the the higher your sales will be long term.

Judy S. 23:51

I know you mentioned earlier that a lot of times when you were to communicate with companies, uh, there'd just be a lack of communication and you felt like you couldn't work with them. Was that usually financial reasons, or was it that they just didn't want to change?

Nick H. 24:04

A lot of times it's not financial, right? It's lack of information. I used to say back in the day, a client would come to us with wanting us to quote a 10-piece puzzle, but they only had seven pieces. What are we supposed to assume? Because then once you put a number on paper, that's etched into their mind, and then they bring two or three new pieces of information up, like, our number changes. You know, I you didn't tell us A, B, C, you know, type of thing. So to me, having the credible information, the timing to truly digest the data and intel and report back a number. And so many times this day and age, everything's last minute. It's always a fire drill. I'm like, wait a sec. You guys knew you're gonna spend $10 million. I mean, all of a sudden we get this information, these blueprints today, and you want our quote in 72 hours. We want the information. We want to provide a credible quote and within certain parameters, but we need time and we need all the pieces to the puzzle. If the client wants a 100-piece puzzle, we need 100 pieces of data, right? To to digest that and uh and to process it within our quoting process.

Judy S. 25:14

So throughout your journey, what is the best advice that you've heard so far?

Nick H. 25:18

Best advice I've heard. You know, be yourself. I mean, again, I'm gonna go back to having the flexibility to create a wow factor at or at retail brick and mortar. To me, I think that's one of the largest caveats of success, one of global footprint of what we all deal with in retail. Having the independence for creativity to me is is extremely valuable.

Rich H. 25:41

So I'm gonna ask the inevitable tech question because I don't think you can have a podcast on breedtail or hospitality today and not ask, how do you think AI is going to impact the industry?

Nick H. 25:55

Those who delay will lose, you know, in my eyes. I mean, I'm in my age demographic, those who delayed in learning Google and the tech advantages that that brought, you know, were behind and lagging behind in the race. The sooner that folks adapt to AI, those will be the leaders of the industry. Whether it's you know supply chain design, packaging, it's unlimited.

Rich H. 26:20

I think that one of the problems that I've seen is when I think you're right, when people resist it and they're just poking their head in the sand and they're saying nobody's ever going to move away from horses and drive these things called cars. But I've also seen the opposite end of the spectrum, which having read one or two dystopian novels when I was in high school, you know, keeps me a little bit in fear in abdicating responsibility to AI and not challenging it. Are you seeing people that are just kind of abdicating what they do to AI?

Nick H. 26:55

Well, and I mean you look at it from my vision, right? I'm in and out of a store in you know four minutes, you're right. Unless I, you know, this week I had a VIP guided tour of one of the oldest historic stores in London. So I was there for two hours. It's a rarity, right? But uh most of the time, if you look at uh my entry and exit points are less than five minutes. So for me to perceive how AI is being implemented, it's difficult, number one. You know, I do see some of the tech advances, and I will say I I've I've spoken to others, and I say Asia is a million miles ahead of the US. You know, that we we think we're number one, and that that tech advancement in Japan, uh Asia, Singapore, and so forth, it's really overwhelming. The the US has, in my eyes, catching up to do. It's hard for me to pinpoint because I I it's it's difficult to perceive that within a sh very short time window of being in and out of the store. However, I know it's being utilized in a lot of the stores, especially chain stores that I go to and visit.

Judy S. 28:00

Just the yesterday, my dad asked me if uh in school we I've taken a course about AI, and I was telling him that I feel like I kind of came towards the end of my college career when AI became so popular, and I feel like it was kind of the opposite where um a lot of professors would tell us we better not detect any AI in your work. And actually I took a communications class last semester and one of my teammates used AI for his part of the paper, but he didn't check back in, like he mentioned, Professor Honeywell. He just got the references from chat. So I told him you can use AI, you just need to know how to use it well, not just fully rely on AI.

Nick H. 28:37

I think you have to utilize within parameters, right? I mean, it's it's a it's a guide, but you know, by no means is it an end to all, right? It could be suggestive, it could be rec, it could recommend scenarios, but obviously we've got to put our own flavor. I always say I nicify things, right? And I and put my own spin to it, if you will.

Rich H. 28:58

Yeah, I'll I'll actually produce something. I use it to organize my thoughts. I like doing the research, I like going down the rabbit hole and finding the obscure when I'm done. I use AI to help organize it, but I want to make sure that it's mine, that I own it, and you can see there is that fear that it's not original, it's not unique, and we have to come to terms with that. So let me pivot back to the human side. You said typically when you're walking through a store, you're going through for four or five minutes. I don't want to assume why, I want to ask why.

Nick H. 29:35

Here's what I've learned to be candid with you. Every in my travels, it's really difficult to prepare and to get authorization, right? Every time I've asked for authorization, it takes 2.9 weeks. In 2.9 weeks, I'm already on another continent, right? So, to what I do is I all I do is I showcase the the brands. You've seen the videos in a light way, and it's public information, open to everyone. I'm not uh providing proprietary information, and I don't want to dwell, I don't want to be too analytical uh in a in a store uh situation because I understand that it can create complications. Uh, and most in these employees don't understand what I'm doing, and and then it's gonna create a scenario to where it's it may it may be negative or not positive, and it may delay what I'm doing. So to me, speed is of the essence. I'm only typically in a market maybe one week, and I'll do one or two videos, right? So timing is of the essence, right? And and I don't want to show information that uh they uh they being a brand or retailer retailer doesn't want exposed, right? So that and that's to answer your question, and you know, speed to me is important.

Communication Gaps And Better Quotes

Rich H. 30:53

Well, I would take it from and love the answer. I it brought me back to a mentor that I had when I was first starting off in retail, which wasn't my chosen path. And he had something that he would all respect intended, called the dumb test. And he would go to a store, whether it was one of ours or whether it was a competitor's, and he would stand at the front line for 30 seconds. And his opinion was if in 30 seconds you don't understand what the store's about, what the key trends are, how to move through there, then the stores failed. From his perspective, we would sometimes do competitive shopping and we might dwell in a store for a while and he might talk to people, but he would do walkthroughs fairly quickly because sometimes that's the average time that a customer is going to give you as they're going through.

Nick H. 31:45

We did the same thing. When at the pharmacy, we would my mentor would send me to other pharmacies to do the top 25 list. What's a two-liter of Coca-Cola? Uh, you know, the basics, right? I and I would get thrown out. It was hilarious. I remember I got a price lead. Yeah, what are you doing? Um, I'm getting prices. Yeah, I learned you know, I learned a lot at a young age. And I I don't look at anything I'm doing now is not detrimental or hurting the brand. All I'm doing is promoting the brand that could bring more sales.

Rich H. 32:20

Yeah, mine was early on. Well, probably at the midpoint of my career, I had a boss and mentor who had started an intimate apparel brand. I worked for a private brand organization. And I love to go to stores and explore. And she asked me when I went to a particular store if I could take some photos of their new intimates brand, which I didn't think much of. And well, I realized it's kind of like when you're talking to yourself in the car, you feel foolish. But if you're talking to someone on the phone, you don't notice it. I'm taking pictures in this store, and a couple people start to stare at me, and I'm completely embarrassed. Now, the solution to that was I would start taking my daughter, who was still in a carriage, along with me, and I would hold up the camera and say, now say cheese, and start taking pictures, and that's how we pass. There you go. So I wanted to jump in a little bit more to the uh to the advice. Is there advice that you wish you would have gotten earlier on in your career or in your in your path? Absolutely.

Nick H. 33:25

The best thing I would say is do what's right. Don't do what others are doing just to go with the crowd. And what I've learned is I say a lot of things that really upset a lot of clients sometimes. And it's not to it's not to upset them. It's I'm I feel I'm telling them the right thing. I try to package it uh the best I can. And a lot of times it may not be received well, you know, because you get 10 competitors at a table, and if I'm the only one that's you know, I'm the squeaky wheel over here, and uh more times than not, what I was trying to indicate over the years was very accurate and true. And my competitors is sit right there and lie right through their teeth, and I would love it. And at the end of the day, it would come back and bite them. You know, uh, we've got a number of stories of that example that I could provide, but be honest, be credible, and when you say yes, make it mean yes.

Judy S. 34:19

What's an underrated skill or trait you look for in people?

Nick H. 34:23

Do more than you get paid for, right? I mean, so much this day and age is bottom dollar, and you know, who's the lowest bidder and this type of thing? Do more in our industry. We build things, we install things, right? Wipe off the fingerprint, sweep the floor. I mean, it's does it say you have to sweep the floor? Maybe not in the scope of work, but I want the I want our crews to sweep the floor. Go above and beyond because that will be remembered. And that's what we like to leave as our legacy.

Rich H. 34:52

So I'm gonna add on to that, and maybe queuing up an easy answer, you may take it down a different path. But if you're giving advice to students who are just starting off in their career path, whether it be in retail or in general, what advice would you give them in order to stand out from the crowd? Especially in today's age where it's about does my AI connect with your AI and do they set are they able to set up a meeting?

Nick H. 35:19

Great question, but I'm gonna flip the coin on you, Rich. Are you referring to an employee type of advice or an entrepreneur type of advice?

Rich H. 35:27

That's a great follow-up, Nick. I let me say from a graduate looking for their first job. Okay.

Nick H. 35:36

Get your feet wet, right? I mean, go out there, learn the ropes, learn the corporate structure. And coincidentally, this was my path, right? You know, I bounced around for a uh a drugstore chain at a few hundred units. I became the traveler, you know, remodel guy, you know, type thing. I learned a lot in that course of action, and I learned a lot that I didn't like from new individuals, new students, learn that corporate struct structure, learn the hierarchy, learn the SOPs and the protocols, and then create your own if you want. I mean, you could continue that corporate ladder. I mean, that's what most individuals do. If you look at it numerically, I would assume most continue that. I shifted left, I turned left at Albuquerque and created my own organization, right? Based off of a market demographic that was exploding. You know, today's market's gonna be something completely different. It's gonna be tech driven or you know, a combination thereof. You know, every student's gonna have to find their own niche, their own interest, their own liking, and a market that's growing, right? And it's the timing to point to entry, and where is that market going? Ours was you could say it was coincidental or is uh it was very projected, right? Retail was booming in the in the mid-90s. Well, our timing to marketplace entry was phenomenal. So uh I got a hold of the coattails and ran road as long as I could in exploding growth of retail. Today, it's gonna be something new and different, and each individual is gonna have to, uh, students gonna have to find their own and do and you know, either go the corporate route or the entrepreneur route. You know, at a certain point, there'd be a dissection point or a why that they via left, veer right type of scenarios.

Rich H. 37:18

Great advice. So I'm gonna pivot into our relatable rapid fire. And I I gave you a heads up, but we're gonna throw three questions out at you, throw out the first thing that comes to mind. I am all right, I am fascinated by your travels, and and the question that I love to ask is what's your walk-on song? And I'll allow you to answer that one, or if you want to say what the most played song on your playlist is.

Nick H. 37:47

I'm gonna say, and I'll give a backstory ACDC, for those about to rock, we salute you. When I left my first job, I am uh my as an employee and created my company. I get in my car, I'm reversing out of the driveway, and we had had a heated discussion, so we're all fired up. And I turned on the car and radio, and ACDC came on. For those about to rock, we salute you. I'm like, somebody's speaking to me right now. I love it.

AI Adoption With Human Judgment

Rich H. 38:17

All right, before Judy asks her question, I'm gonna jump in with an anecdote that I've never told anybody, but I think I'm far enough removed from the job I'll get away with it. My first buying job was at Joseph Bank, and I was leaving to take a job in New York. And this is in the early days of tech like answering machines and things called fax machines, Judy. And I thankfully knew how to operate the answering machine on my office phone back then, and I taped a recorded message of Frank Sinatra my way that it took them three weeks to figure out how to erase from my McClune. So I love it. Yeah, that's awesome. I don't think anybody's still around uh that would uh that'll dock me for that.

Nick H. 39:00

So I think I can get it exactly exactly that's classic. I love it.

Judy S. 39:05

So walking through a new city, what's the perfect day for you?

Nick H. 39:09

That's a good one. What one thing I like to do, and it's funny because I never would have thought that I would enjoy this. Uh when I get to even in London, uh in a city that I don't know well, right? So a lot of cities I've been to multiple times, so I kind of have a gauge of a barometer of the of the area. London, I really don't know too well. So I jumped on the double decker bus and I go around and it's I get the map. I'm a map guy because I started out before cell phones and before maps, and Google Maps wasn't even around. And I'd pinpoint, you know, historical things of interest that I like that intrigue me personally. And then also, you always get to see where the shopping malls are, the plazas, the anything of interest that relates to my channel, right? So it's a it's a two or three hour investment of my time, and it's truly educational. I enjoy it, and I like to do that in the beginning because then I have kind of my roadmap for the next X number of days or however much time I'm in that region.

Judy S. 40:08

What's been your favorite source so far in London that you visited?

Nick H. 40:11

I've got to tell you, I was hand uh connected to the CEO of uh one of the most historic chain of brands here in London by the name of Liberty London. Um it's it blew me away. I was like a 10-year-old dude at Disney World. I mean, the CEO handed me out to the general director, and it was so informative, educational. It's a I don't know, four or five-story store built out of two warships. All the wood in there is from two warships. It's just, I mean, just to give you an idea, it's incredible. I'm excited to see how this video comes out. Hopefully, I do adjust this because it's overwhelming. If you ever make it to London, you have to go to Liberty London.

Judy S. 40:59

I'm looking forward to watching that video. Um, what is something you've purchased during one of your trips that you love or regret?

Rich H. 41:06

And I'm gonna jump in and I'm gonna frame this one, Nick, because being nomadic, I collect things and I'm trying to go through simplification. So being nomadic, I would assume that purchasing something to bring home to a 3,000 square foot home is not what you're doing.

Nick H. 41:23

So no, that's a good point. And for me to buy something is rare these days, right? Because I am traveling at this point. Um I'm gonna give two references here then. One, I'll say it on my wrist. It's an easy purchase, right? So I like to pick up something typically from a country I go to, and it it gives me that daily continual memory. Oh, Italy, Morocco, you know, Africa, wherever I was. And it's relatively cheap. And it's that continual memory that feeds what I'm doing. The other one I'm gonna give one that I really like, that it's a rarity because I hardly I'm not a fashionista and I don't buy a lot of clothes, right? And I've you know, my bag, I'm only allowed 50 pounds. And I bought a really cool shirt at a store that I did in Barcelona, Santa Ulala. I bought a Stone Island shirt and I love it. I get one of those ones I get compliments on. Like that's a cool shirt. I like that. So a little shout out for Luis, the owner of Santa Ulala, one of the top men stores in the world.

Rich H. 42:29

That's outstanding. And I I share your passion for Liberty of London in my collection of things that I very rarely will wear, but I will never get rid of, or the pocket squares I bought from Liberty of London, the little ditzy prints many years ago. So I'm looking forward to getting back there in a few weeks.

Nick H. 42:45

Hopefully, I do it justice in the video, and uh, I should have that one out in a few weeks there for you.

Rich H. 42:49

That is fantastic. Uh, looking forward to it. Nick, it has been an absolute uh pleasure to have you on the program. Look forward to uh maybe developing some content and uh diving a little bit deeper into your travels and exploration. Um, but appreciate you taking the time, especially being across the way. And and Judy, you are on the other side of the ocean as well. So appreciate you joining today.

Nick H. 43:13

I I thank you two very much. And uh I don't know if any of your listeners or uh readers may enjoy any connection, but I'm open to engagement, collaboration. You know, anybody can find me on LinkedIn under my personal name, Nick Harbaugh, or under YouTube at the Retail Nomad.

Rich H. 43:30

And we are gonna post that YouTube link because I I I post it with my students as well. Um, I usually will post the one outside of Marrakesh with the goats and trees because that's the first one I saw. And I'm like, okay, no one else can share that experience.

Rapid Fire Travels And Closing

Nick H. 43:47

There's a funny story about that. I get to Morocco and it's like, you want some argon oil? I'm like, what's argon oil? I had no idea what it was. And she goes, You don't know what argon oil is? I'm like, I have no idea. She educated me, it's for hair and skin. I'm like, well, I don't need any for my hair. Uh, you know, and I come to find out that it's sold in all the stores in the states, in Sephora and Alta and all the cosmetic stores. I'm like, what? So it was very educational. One of my more fun videos because I'm up there crunching argon you know seeds with the grandmothers, and we had a riot. It was a really a fun video to make.

Rich H. 44:24

I loved it. And Judy, I don't know that you're gonna get this, but did you think at all about Kopy Luwak and the bucket list when you were hearing the story of the goats and the Argon? You got me on Argentina. All right, cool. Yeah. All right, well, I'd love to check it out. Judy, pleasure having you co pilot.

Judy S. 44:43

Thank you so much for letting me join.

Rich H. 44:45

And Nick Uh absolute pleasure. Thank you too very much.